The Death of Clément Méric Foretold
The recent killing of a French teenager by fascist sympathisers recalls the tensions and divisions of the 1930s, says Chris Millington.
On June 5th Clément Méric, an 18-year-old anti-fascist, died in front of shoppers following a fight with a skinhead gang in the well-to-do ninth arrondissement of Paris. According to press reports Méric and several friends had encountered the gang, who were wearing t-shirts bearing neo-Nazi slogans, at a discount sale for sportswear. An altercation followed and insults were exchanged. The skinheads left the shop, only to attack the young anti-fascists in the street outside. Méric received several blows from a knuckleduster before falling and striking his head on a post. He died soon after. A variety of left-wing and anti-fascist groups staged street demonstrations in central Paris and elsewhere against fascist violence.
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